Billboard 200

It’s a good thing we’re not Nas. With all the good news he’s had recently, we’re not so sure we could resist the temptation of celebratory cocktails every night. After the highly anticipated Life Is Good lived up to the hype, the numbers are in. Nasir Jones’ 10th album topped the Billboard 200 at No. 1 making this his fifth number one. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Life Is Good sold 149,000 in its first week, which is more than pop stars Usher (128,000) and Chris Brown (134,000) debuted. Don’t call it a comeback; because if you’ve paid attention, the Queens legend never really left. Read more…

Radar is reporting that Madge’s M.D.N.A. sold only 46,000 copies during its second week of release, an 88 percent drop from her first week total. This, sadly, would set a new record for the steepest second week sales drop of any artist since the Soundscan era began in 1991. Billboard won’t be releasing their sales figures until tomorrow, so true blue Madonna fans, there’s still time to run out and buy the record tonight to save the Material Girl from some embarrassing headlines tomorrow!

Last week we gave you five reasons why you must know UK boy-band One Direction right this second, and here’s another reason: their debut album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, making them the first British band to ever do so. Their album, Up All Night, has sold 176,000 copies and has officially made history with its number one entry onto the charts. Until now, the highest debut entry for a debut album was the Spice Girls’ Spice, which entered the chart at number six in 1997. If the Spice Girls subsequent worldwide success is anything to go by, then we can only deduce that there’s only one direction for pop music to take this year (sorry we couldn’t help ourselves!). Could One Direction be to 2012 what Adele was to 2011?

One of our favorite new bands, fun., has become the first rock outfit in more than a decade to send a debut single to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s track “We Are Young,” featuring Janelle Monae, which we were lucky enough to hear live when the boys stopped by Big Morning Buzz Live, has shot to the number one spot from number three, boasting 1.1 million downloads sold since its release, a spot at number 41 on Radio Songs with the Hot 100′s top Airplay Gainer award, and a spot at number two on the Alternative Songs radio airplay chart. Basically, all you need to take away from this is that fun. rules, in a completely literal sense. The last time a multi-member rock band ruled this hard and topped the charts with a debut single was in December 2001/January 2002 when Nickelback burst onto the charts with “How You Remind Me.” Pushing Kelly Clarkson‘s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” to number two, and Adele‘s “Set Fire To The Rain” to number three, fun. are beginning to look like a force to be reckoned with. Indeed, their album, Some Nights, has sneaked up to number three on the Billboard 200 behind the dominating Queens, Adele and Whitney Houston? Should Adele be scared that her previously unshakable number one might be, well, shakable?

Unsurprisingly, Whitney Houston‘s untimely death last weekend has lead to a surge in album sales for the legendary performer, with her Greatest Hits compilation selling enough copies in just one day to steamroll the charts and land itself at number six on the Billboard 200 Album chart. Except that Billboard doesn’t acknowledge the would-be chart topper because of its age, so despite killer sales, the album wont actually appear on the chart. Selling 63,853 copies in one day, the album did make it to number one on Billboard’s Catalogue Album list (with her self-titled debut album making it to number five, also on this list), so the soaring sales haven’t gone entirely without recognition.

To put Houston’s posthumous sales in perspective, NY Daily News compares her numbers to Paul McCartney‘s Kisses On The Bottom, which sold 74,100 copies to debut at number five on the Billboard 200 chart. But McCartney had a full week to amass these numbers — Houston’s last minute sales bump was the product of one day, as Sunday night is the cutoff for Nielsen SoundScan’s stats, and we tragically lost Houston on the Saturday night. It’s expected that these big sales will just keep growing for the late Houston over the next week as fans continue to grieve and show support.

Yesterday we reported that Adelesold 5 million copies of 21 this year, and now we’re back with more Adele news because just when it seems that the girl has reached the top, she outdoes herself (again). In the latest Adele-centric news, Billboard has predicted, based on their projections, that 21 will re-claim the number one spot on their Billboard 200 chart next week (the album is currently at number two). If this happens, it will be Adele’s 14th non-consecutive week at number one (not to mention a great start to the new year), the only album beating her being the Titanic soundtrack which topped the charts for 16 weeks in 1998. It’s been a big year for Adele, and we’re wondering what will happen to her powerhouse, chart dominating prowess, given that the singer/songwriter has proclaimed we wont be hearing another album from her for around four or five years.